+ 1 First Blast
This is mostly unchanged from my post in the cycles section, unfortunately I gained some fat in my two weeks leading up to this blast due to limited food choices (MREs) and lack of access to a gym. I am switching out shoulder press day for another day of bench and aim to hit 315 for the first time in my life by the end of this blast. Pinned my first 250 minutes ago, and now I’m off to the gym.
I have an appointment with my personal trainer friend on Saturday to get all my bodypart measurements and dial in my accessory exercises to get the most out of my workouts.
Age 29
Starting stats:
Weight: 213
BF: 15%
EDIT:
Starting measurements 8/24:
Weight: 218 (gym clothes on)
Body fat: 15%
Hips: 37
Thigh: 23
Calf: 15
Waist: 32
Arm: 14
Chest: 42
Shoulders: 50
UPDATE: 9/12
Weight: 225 (gym clothes on)
Body fat: 16%
Hips- 38
Thigh-24
Calf- 16.25
Waist- 32
Arm- 14.5
Chest- 43
Shoulders- 50.5
Goal:
Add some size, get stronger, and look better naked.
315 bench, 450 squat, 450 deadlift
Macros for blast:
40c/25p/35f
Calorie goal: 4500 (3300 currently)
450g carb
281g protein
166g fat
Morning shake:
Syntha6+skim milk
Breakfast:
Omelet Egg whites+turkey+bell pepper&onions, oat meal, banana, Avocado.
Meal 2:
Rice+chicken+mixed veggies
Meal 3:
Leftovers from meal 2.
Meal 4:
Salmon+ sweet potato+asparagus
Whey isolate shake post workout.
Casein+ milk before bed.
Snacks: protein bars, celery + pb, lenny&larry cookies, fruit.
Starting Lifts:
Bench - 270 (205x10 for reps at 85%)
Squat - 425 (335x10 for reps at 85%)
Deadlift - 405 (295x10 for reps at 85%) (weak, but I’m working on it.)
Workout:
1. Upper body: main lift- Bench + push/pull supersets
2. Lower body: main lift- squats + ancillary lifts+ steady cardio
3. Core + cardio
4. Upper body: main lift- Bench + push/pull supersets
5. Lower body: main lift- deadlift +ancillary lifts+ steady cardio
6. Core + cardio
7. Rest
Past cycle history:
None.
Supplements: omega 3 oil & red yeast rice for cholesterol.
PCT: TRT
Bloodwork: in pics/profile, latest bloods have been posted in pics. E2 was low, which I will be addressing by changing my dosing protocol of anastrozole from .5mg day of injection to .25mg day after injection. Total T came back at 890, new high for me.
Will be getting bloodwork done 4/5 weeks in to check levels at 500mg.
I aim to update this with every 4 weeks or with any significant changes.
| Week | Testosterone Cypionate | Aromasin | HGH |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 500mg | 3iu | |
| 2 | 500mg | 3iu | |
| 3 | 500mg | 3iu | |
| 4 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 5 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 6 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 7 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 8 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 9 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 10 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 11 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
| 12 | 500mg | 12.5mg/day | 3iu |
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You need to eat more bro! That’s not enough meals.
Glad to see a well thought out approach and responsible cycle. +2
I appreciate it brother! I’m on my deload week right now and recovering. Excited to see my progress on my as many reps as possible sets next week.
Think you could stand to up your protein 40-50g and trade off fat for carbs...you’ll end up with better composition
Thanks for the input! I’ll play around with my diet a bit and take your suggestion into consideration.
So far I’m up to 220lb, mostly water weight I’m sure, but people are definitely starting to comment on my size gains already. Patience is a virtue and as excited as I am about this first blast it’s hard waiting for the results to come in. But I gotta keep telling myself that Anything worth having is worth waiting for and working for.
Good luck brother. Eat big and hit back every work out. Lats and upper back help every lift go up.
Looking forward to seeing your ending numbers. You got a 1200 total in your grasp.
Up 10lb on bench max, 20lb on deadlift, will check squat in 3 days. Up to 222lb in the am, bf still staying put, people are making comments about me looking bigger, feeling good about it being a quarter of the way through.
jayiskgood to hear. that will help keep you motivated and on track. keep at it.
Thanks for the encouragement! Hope all is well with you!
That’s phenomenal man. Good shit. Keep it up
Cheated a bit on the max, I used straps. Still working on grip, so anything under 315 I use normal grip, 315 and up I do switch grip, but for the max I used straps for the first time
Just remember not to over do the back training if you really want to up your deadlift max - once you have ramped up through your warm up all thats really needed is one all out to failure set to keep progressing your strength every single session. If you then carry on to do sets of barbell rows etc afterwards you'll fry your CNS and shoulders etc and this will really impact your other 2 main lifts being bench and squats which will then stagnate or worse slip backwards. Frequency is more important than intensity in the strength game mate.
I don’t think he’s BB rowing enough to fry his CNS man. If he sticks to higher rep rows he’ll be fine. I do my BB rows on bench day tho. I couldn’t effectively do them on dead day. I do dB rows on dead day
Rows I hit on bench days, superset my bench with 3x12 cable rows, and then superset my 5x15 DB bench with 5x15 DB Row.
Nice. Yea that sounds like a good move
If he's already gone to failure on his lower back in deadlifts then does any more work requiring it afterwards he won't be fine, its a pitfall I've often fallen into in favour of some back thickness afterwards. Thats why many powerlifters will often then do some kind of chinning work afterwards then leave it at that.
Yea I just meant he can do them later in the week. I wouldn’t do it the same day. I wait at least 2 days after deads
I do dead’s for failure on the last set and then follow it up with 5x15 hanging leg raises to help stretch out my back. Then I’ll hit 5x12 good mornings. Follow that with standing calf raises 5x15, then its on to plate farmer carries to finish it off before cardio.
Ive been hitting calves on squat and deadlift days and it’s working. Added 1.5 inches on my calves so far. Before I got here I assumed just doing cardio, squats and deadlifts would grow my calves, I hadn’t dedicated time to my calves. Making up for it now.
Lol I dig. Just keep workin on grip man it’ll come. I gotta start workin on mine again I slacked for a bit and I can outpull my grip again... no bueno
Thanks brother, getting to eat big is the best part about this. I’m Hitting lats hard this go, they’ve always been a weak part for me. Also, I opted to go strict 5/3/1 workout for the cycle, it’s tried, tested, and proven. Plus I’ve used it for good results in the past. I checked out dark horse, and it looked very interesting, but I’ll need more time to play with those spreadsheets, might use it next time.
Did deadlifts today and added in some grip work doing the bumper plate farmer walks at the end. It got my forearms real good.
Nice. I liked 5/3/1 a lot back when I did it a few years ago. Did boring but big for like 6 months or so. Have you checked out his 5/3/1 forever. Or whatever he calls the updated version? Either way if it worked well before nothing wrong with it. Not enough volume for my taste but he fixed that when he updated it.
I’m excited to hear about your AMRAP sets as they start to shoot up!
Yea darkhorse is super fun and hard as shit, but it may benefit you more if you save it for when 531 stops working.
Glad you liked the grip work! Dude I’m telling you those bumper plate walks on deadlift day and the over load rack holds on squat day helped my deads tremendously.
Good luck brother and have fun!
PS +2 from me. Don’t know why someone negged you. Maybe fat thumbs?
Lol looks like someone didn’t like me un-negging your neg.
Lol and a pussy neg at that, won’t even own it and say why they did it.
Had my unflexed measurements taken before hitting chest today and added them to my post. This will give me an even better picture of my progress post cycle.
Eat big my dude.
Red meat, potatoes, whole milk. Lots and lots
I do love me some milk! First time I ever did 5/3/1 I did the GOMAD diet too. Steak, can’t go wrong. I stock up on ribeyes and NY strip every time they go on sale down to 9.99/lb
I am looking forward to seeing the end result!
I do see ziabungle's point about the anastrozole. I think everybody responds differently, but many take it as a precaution. I need 1mg a week @500mg/wk Test e, but I am pretty sensitive to estrogen.
Because estrogen is important to have (obviously not too high or too low), have you considered adjusting your e2 levels as needed until you find the sweet spot that works for you? Or are you lowering your anastrozole dose based on your too low e2 measurements from last bloods? In either case, I look forward to seeing your bloods!
Typically 20 and under is a sweet spot for me as far as I can tell by my 2 years of bloods. I know I need it because even at 200mg TRT I get effects from high free e2. For TRT I am reducing my dosage to .25mg twice a week to help reduce rebound and keep levels more stable. For this blast since I am more than doubling my TRT dosage I will be upping it to .5mg after each injection.
At 500mg of test you need anastrozole? I’m gyno prone but not at 500 or below.
How are you determining you dont need an AI?